It is said that the Dasasloki was composed by Sri
Sankara spontaneously when Sri Govindapada, whom he approached with a
request to be accepted as a disciple, asked him who he was. The ten
slokas which have become famous as ’Dasasloki’ were Sri Sankara’s
answer to this question. The gist of these slokas is that he is the
pure Atma devoid of the limiting adjuncts in the form of the body, mind
and organs.

1. I am not the element earth, nor water, nor fire,
nor air, nor ether, nor any of the organs individually, nor all the
elements or organs together as a whole. Because of variability (of the
limiting adjuncts in the states of waking and dream), the self exists
by itself only in deep sleep (without the limiting adjuncts in the form
of the senses, mind, etc.). I am that most auspicious, attribute-less,
non-dual entity who alone remains (when all duality is negated).

Note:
In this verse the view of the Charvakas (materialists) that there is no
self or Atma different from the body is rejected. The Charvaka system
does not accept the existence of a soul different from the body. There
are various sub-divisions in the Charvaka school itself. One school
holds that the physical body itself is the self, another that the sense
organs are the self, yet another that the mind is the self. All these
are rejected by Advaita. According to Advaita the individual self,
which is identical with Brahman, is devoid of all qualities and is
neither a doer nor an experiencer. In the waking state the mind, sense
and physical body function with the consciousness derived from the
Atma. In the dream state the physical body and senses do not function,
but the mind functions and creates various objects. In the deep sleep
state the mind too is dormant and the Atma alone is there. In this
state also there is experience of happiness and total ignorance of
everything, as is proved by the fact that when a person wakes up from
sleep he or she says, “I slept happily, I did not know anything”. This
proves that the Atma, which is pure consciousness, exists in the deep
sleep state also. In this state there is nothing but the Atma. The
world of duality is only a superimposition on Brahman due to avidya.
When self-knowledge arises, this avidya is destroyed and the self alone
remains, which can never be negated. This self is pure consciousness,
attributeless, and auspicious.

2. Neither the division into
castes and stages of life, nor the rules of conduct and duties of the
various castes and stages of life apply to me. I have no need for
dharana, dhyana or yoga, etc. Since the notions of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ which
are due to identification with the not-self (body, mind and organs)
have gone, I remain as the one auspicious self free from all
attributes”.

3. The srutis say that in deep sleep there is no
mother, nor father, nor gods, nor the worlds, nor the Vedas, nor
sacrifices, nor holy places. Nor is there total void, since I exist
then as the one auspicious self free from all attributes”.

Since
the notions of caste, stage of life, etc., are based only on false
knowledge (which results in identification with the body, etc.,), it is
pointed out that when that (false knowledge) is not there, such notions
also do not exist, as in the state of deep sleep.

This sloka is
based on the Brihadaranyaka upanishad which says that in the state of
deep sleep the father cease to be a father, the mother ceases to be a
mother, a thief is no thief, etc.

4. Neither the Sankhya view,
nor the Saiva, nor the Pancharatra, nor the Jaina nor the Mimamsaka
view, etc., is tenable. Because of the realization of the partless
Brahman generated by the Mahavakya, Brahman is absolutely pure
(untainted). I remain as the one auspicious self free from all
attributes.

5. Brahman has no such thing as upper or lower
(part), it has no inside or outside, it has no middle or any ‘across’,
and it has no eastern or western direction, because it is all-pervading
like space (or pervades space also). It is one and without parts. I
remain as the one auspicious self free from all attributes.

6.
Brahman is not white, nor black, nor red, nor yellow; it is not tiny,
nor big. It is neither short nor long. It is not knowable since it is
of the nature of effulgence. I remain as the one auspicious self free
from all attributes”.

7. There is neither teacher nor
scriptures, neither student nor instruction, neither you nor I, nor
this world. The knowledge of one’s real nature does not admit of
different perceptions. I remain as the one auspicious self free from
all attributes”.

8. I do not have the state of waking, nor of
dream, nor of deep sleep. I am not Visva, or Taijasa, or Praajna.
Because all these three states are only the products of ignorance, I am
the fourth (beyond these three states). I remain as the one auspicious
self free from all attributes”.

Note: Visva is the name given to the jiva in the waking state, Taijasa in the dream state, and Praajna in the deep sleep state.

9.
The Atma is all-pervading, is the desired goal, is self-existent, and
is not dependent on any thing else, while the entire universe which is
different from it is unreal. I remain as the one auspicious self free
from all attributes.

10. It is not one; how can there be a
second different from it? It has neither absoluteness nor
non-absoluteness. It is neither void nor non-void since it is devoid of
duality. How can I describe that which is the essence of the entire
Vedanta!”